Minnesota seeks ban on junk food

Bad policy....government has done enough (too much) in terms of telling
people what to eat....

Ignoramus17184 wrote:
:: Minnesota Seeks Ban on Junk Food Stamps
::
:: Friday, April 30, 2004
::
::
::
:: ST. PAUL, Minnesota ? Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (search) wants to
:: fight obesity (search) in his state by limiting the amount of junk
:: food people on public assistance programs can buy.
::

Ignoramus17184 wrote:

In article , Roger Zoul
wrote:
Bad policy....government has done enough (too much) in terms of telling
people what to eat....

Yes, and no. Personally, I have not decided if I like this policy or
not, but I would not want my tax dollars spent by food stamps
recipients to buy junk food. Junk food is very expensive. That's just
one consideration, and there are other valid considerations.

i

I am so much for NOT telling the poor what to eat. They are ostracized
enough, and get very little of the pleasures that the more affluent get.
And no, junk food is NOT expensive, at least not where I sit. I can buy a
family sized bag of potato chips for 99c. Try buying the equivalent in
calories of say, Ready-to-eat Halibut for 99c A happy meal at
McDonald's is $1.99 on Sundays.... Junk food is widely available and highly
affordable. I've also volunteered at suppers for the homeless and mass
quantities of bread and day old donuts are offered to them after the meal
is served. It's cheap to make and cheap to sell.

"Let 'em eat cake",
CM
--
The post you just read, unless otherwise noted, is strictly my opinion
and experience. Please interpret accordingly.

It's not as affordable as all that. My aunt was very
poor after her husband died of cancer and had to
completely cut out snack food for herself and her
kids. A bag of Doritos costs twice what
I'm having for lunch today, and has 1/10th the
nutrition.

The think about fast food is that the working poor
sometimes have to live in residential motels
that don't have kitchens. I wish I could
remember the name of the book, but a woman
lived like this once for an experiment and when she
talked about it on Oprah, she confirmed that it
is almost more expensive to be poor than to be
middle class because of having to use laundromats and
so on.



"Crafting Mom" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus17184 wrote:

In article , Roger Zoul
wrote:
Bad policy....government has done enough (too much) in terms of telling
people what to eat....

Yes, and no. Personally, I have not decided if I like this policy or
not, but I would not want my tax dollars spent by food stamps
recipients to buy junk food. Junk food is very expensive. That's just
one consideration, and there are other valid considerations.

i

I am so much for NOT telling the poor what to eat. They are ostracized
enough, and get very little of the pleasures that the more affluent get.
And no, junk food is NOT expensive, at least not where I sit. I can buy a
family sized bag of potato chips for 99c. Try buying the equivalent in
calories of say, Ready-to-eat Halibut for 99c A happy meal at
McDonald's is $1.99 on Sundays.... Junk food is widely available and
highly
affordable. I've also volunteered at suppers for the homeless and mass
quantities of bread and day old donuts are offered to them after the meal
is served. It's cheap to make and cheap to sell.

"Let 'em eat cake",
CM
--
The post you just read, unless otherwise noted, is strictly my opinion
and experience. Please interpret accordingly.

Ignoramus17184 wrote:
:: In article , Roger Zoul
:: wrote:
::: Bad policy....government has done enough (too much) in terms of
::: telling people what to eat....
::
:: Yes, and no. Personally, I have not decided if I like this policy or
:: not, but I would not want my tax dollars spent by food stamps
:: recipients to buy junk food. Junk food is very expensive. That's just
:: one consideration, and there are other valid considerations.
::

How would you like it if someone told you what to eat and they told you to
eat what you think of as junk food?

OTOH, why don't we just spend more tax dollars and let the poor buy steak
and lobster?

What happens when the low fat crowd decides that food-stamp people eat too
much fat? Then we put them on low-fat diets? Oh, but now low-carb is en
vogue, so instead which switch them to low carb? Back to steak and lobster,
eh?

Well, if they are giving me food money, I think that it is only fair
that they tell me what I can or cannot do with it. Now, here it is the
government that gives money, but still, it is not unfair to impose
some restrictions on how government grants are used. Would it be fair
to allow the poor to buy vodka with food stamps?There are calories in
vodka, after all.

At the liquor store we see MANY food stamp (which are actually cards)
recipients sell their cards for quick cash to buy vodka....MANY!!!

~Carol Ann

"Carol Ann" wrote in message
news:8Yxkc.4714$I%1.383961@attbi_s51...
Well, if they are giving me food money, I think that it is only fair
that they tell me what I can or cannot do with it. Now, here it is the
government that gives money, but still, it is not unfair to impose
some restrictions on how government grants are used. Would it be fair
to allow the poor to buy vodka with food stamps?There are calories in
vodka, after all.

At the liquor store we see MANY food stamp (which are actually cards)
recipients sell their cards for quick cash to buy vodka....MANY!!!

~Carol Ann


I'm morally opposed to any welfare, personal or corporate, but if we're
going to be giving something away, it should be actual food, not stamps or
cards. It would be a lot harder for them to sell cans of meat and green
beans than money off a card.

--
Vic
1500 calories and under 20 carbs a day.
258/222/180
Since 3/24/04

Ignoramus17184 wrote:
:: In article , Roger Zoul
:: wrote:
::: Ignoramus17184 wrote:
::::: In article , Roger
::::: Zoul wrote:
:::::: Bad policy....government has done enough (too much) in terms of
:::::: telling people what to eat....
:::::
::::: Yes, and no. Personally, I have not decided if I like this policy
::::: or not, but I would not want my tax dollars spent by food stamps
::::: recipients to buy junk food. Junk food is very expensive. That's
::::: just one consideration, and there are other valid considerations.
:::::
:::
::: How would you like it if someone told you what to eat and they told
::: you to eat what you think of as junk food?
::
:: Well, if they are giving me food money, I think that it is only fair
:: that they tell me what I can or cannot do with it.

It's food money, so the only restriction should be that you buy food with it
(or that things that are considered necessities by law). Now these people
are suggesting that they know best as to what foods are best -- and we have
good evidence that such is not the case. And you can't prove that certain
junk food items, when used correctly, can't be part of a healthy diet.

This is food snobbishness taken to an extreme....like CM said, let those
folks eat cake if they wanna...(teach them to be better choices, but don't
force it on them).

Gosh, perhaps you'd like to make everyone who receives assistance into
slaves: if you take this support, you must submit to our will in every way.
It's only fair.

Now, here it is
:: the government that gives money, but still, it is not unfair to
:: impose
:: some restrictions on how government grants are used.

There are already restrictions -- why are more needed?

Would it be fair
:: to allow the poor to buy vodka with food stamps?There are calories in
:: vodka, after all.

Vodka is not need to live -- it is not food. It has calories, but it
provides 0 nuriousment (sp?)

::
::: OTOH, why don't we just spend more tax dollars and let the poor buy
::: steak and lobster?
:::
::: What happens when the low fat crowd decides that food-stamp people
::: eat too much fat? Then we put them on low-fat diets? Oh, but now
::: low-carb is en vogue, so instead which switch them to low carb?
::: Back to steak and lobster, eh?
::
::
:: That is a valid question. Like I said, I have not yet decided if MN
:: is doing the right thing or not.

Hopefully, they won't do this......

This seems really simple to me...

::
:: --
:: -------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
:: @ @ @ Please forgive my typos as my right hand is injured. @
:: @ @
::
char*p="char*p=%c%s%c;main(){printf(p,34,p,34);}"; main(){printf(p,34,p,34);}
:: "It's never too late to have a happy childhood."

"Patricia Heil" wrote in message
...
A bag of Doritos costs twice what
I'm having for lunch today, and has 1/10th the
nutrition.

Doritos is a brand name, if you go for brandless potato chips, you can have
a pretty good calories/cost ratio. Likewise, pasta is pretty inexpensive,
for $1 you can have a whole 1kg package that will feed you for several
meals.

The think about fast food is that the working poor
sometimes have to live in residential motels
that don't have kitchens.

Another problem is that even if they have a kitchen, they sometimes don't
have any real groceries in the neighbourhood but only facility stores. Yet
another problem is that if you work two jobs or more, with a lot of
commuting, you just don't have much time left to shop and cook.

I wish I could remember the name of the book, but a woman
lived like this once for an experiment and when she
talked about it on Oprah, she confirmed that it
is almost more expensive to be poor than to be
middle class because of having to use laundromats and
so on.

My girlfriend did a study on unfit housing (the kind where kids are attacked
my rats and get diseased from eating paint with lead) as part of a training
period (she's an city planner), usually residential hotels. It was quite a
surprise to see that their rents were actually higher than ours. We have a
small flat, but I have never been attacked by rats or anything like that.
The only difference is that the landlord doesn't ask you to have a job (he
doesn't care where you get the money), to pay a deposit (there is nothing
left to damage), to pay anything in advance (if you don't pay, he will make
you pay) or even to be a legal immigrant. For the people who have no other
option than living in these places, yes, being poor is indeed rather
expensive...

"Carol Ann" wrote in message
news:8Yxkc.4714$I%1.383961@attbi_s51...
At the liquor store we see MANY food stamp (which are actually cards)
recipients sell their cards for quick cash to buy vodka....MANY!!!

Well, it's still calories. I know an anorexic who lives only on a bottle
of that stuff and a *small* bowl of rice a day... He's certainly not
overweight.

Ignoramus17184 wrote:
:: In article , Roger Zoul
:: wrote:
::: Ignoramus17184 wrote:
::::: In article , Roger
::::: Zoul wrote:
::
::
::: Now, here it is
::::: the government that gives money, but still, it is not unfair to
::::: impose
::::: some restrictions on how government grants are used.
:::
::: There are already restrictions -- why are more needed?
:::
::: Would it be fair
::::: to allow the poor to buy vodka with food stamps?There are
::::: calories in vodka, after all.
:::
::: Vodka is not need to live -- it is not food. It has calories, but
::: it provides 0 nuriousment (sp?)
::
:: junk food is not needed to live, either.

No particular food, such as chicken or rice, is needed to live. Hence, as
long as something fits with the category of food, then them have it.

Besides - define junk food.